Scottish Executive

Aggregates Tax

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25486 by Allan Wilson on 14 May 2002, what decisions it has made on how to distribute the annual allocation from HM Treasury through the aggregates levy.

Ross Finnie: As I indicated in my response to question S1W-24840 on 29 April 2002, the assigned budget will receive approximately £3 million per year from 2002-03, as part of the allocation by the Treasury of the proceeds of the aggregates levy. This has been allocated to the environment portfolio.

  We have now considered a range of possible projects and have decided to allocate half of the available funding to environmental renewal in communities affected by aggregates extraction. This amounts to £1.5 million in both 2002-03 and 2003-04. The funding will be made available through the Executive's Sustainable Action Fund.

  Bids will be invited from local communities, or bodies which can demonstrate that they are working with local communities, for projects which address the environmental effects of past or present aggregates extraction (e.g. visual impact, noise, dust, pollution, transport, loss of habitat); involve the local community, and have demonstrable social and/or economic benefit to the local community; but will not support work which is already required e.g. by statute or contractual obligations, though it may supplement this (e.g. restoration of site to higher standard than provided for by planning conditions).

  In the first year the Executive will administer the grants, alongside the existing Sustainable Action Grants. Fuller information on the scheme will be available at www.sustainable.scotland.gov.uk.

  Distribution of the grant will be overseen by a Grants Panel, and we are inviting relevant bodies to nominate representatives to join this.

  The remainder of the funding will be used for a broad range of projects supporting sustainable development. Further information about these projects will be available shortly. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/searchwa.

Animal Welfare

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has met representatives of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) of Scotland, the Scottish Crofters Federation and island councils to discuss any suitable amendments to the EU Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare’s proposals to alter the animal welfare regulations governing the transport of livestock by sea.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has met representatives of the NFU Scotland to discuss the recommendations in the report on the welfare of animals during transport by the EU Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Welfare. The specific recommendation on transportation of livestock by seas was discussed. No meetings have been held with the Scottish Crofters' Federation or the Islands' Councils, but we are fully aware of the concerns of the livestock industry on the Islands.

  The specific needs of the remote areas such as the Highlands and Islands of Scotland were raised at the recent Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting when the welfare of animals during transit was discussed in open forum. When proposals are made by the European Commission these will be discussed with crofting and farming organisations to assist Scottish Executive officials to prepare briefing for attendance at any Council working group set up to consider the proposals in detail.

Animal Welfare

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government on the EU Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare’s proposals to alter the animal welfare regulations governing the transport of livestock by sea.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has made the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs fully aware of the Executive's concern about some of the Committee's recommendations and, in particular, the recommendation about restricting animal transport by sea in winds of force 5 or greater. A case stressing the specific problems which the Committee's recommendations, if adopted, would pose for the livestock industry in the Highlands and Islands, has been made.

Animal Welfare

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it acting with Her Majesty’s Government, has made a case in Europe for the proposed rules governing transport of animals by sea to include exemptions for transport to and from the Scottish islands in the light of the independent assessments made by animal welfare organisations backing the existing livestock transport arrangements, and whether any such case received the support of other European governments.

Ross Finnie: No proposals on the welfare of animals during transport have been made by the Commission. However, the special circumstances affecting the Highlands and Islands have been raised with the Commission on a number of occasions and were recorded formally at the recent Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting.

Animal Welfare

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the effects on agriculture in the islands should the EU Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare’s proposals to alter the animal welfare regulations governing the transport of livestock by sea become law without any amendment.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has not carried out an in depth assessment of the effects that implementation of the recommendation to alter the regulations governing the transport of livestock by sea would have on the livestock industry in the islands. Nevertheless we are acutely aware that the effect would be significant so the Executive has strongly registered with the European Commission and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs its concerns over any possible change to the transport of livestock regulations which would limit the transport of animals by sea to days when the wind speed was force 4 or less. Our concerns over a shortening of journey times for animals from the Highlands and Islands have also been made known.

  We shall reinforce this position if that recommendation is brought forward as one of the Commission proposals.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice on hormone replacement therapy and any link with an increase in breast cancer is currently available to NHS boards.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS boards have access to various sources of advice on any link between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and an increased risk of breast cancer, including the product information for HRT and the British National Formulary.

  Importantly, the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) and the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) monitor the safety of marketed medicines and provide advice when necessary. The MCA/CSM publish a quarterly bulletin Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance drawing attention to problems with medicines and providing advice on the ways medicines can be used more safely. The April 2002 (Volume 28) edition of the bulletin reviewed the risks of cancer with use of HRT. This bulletin is available on the MCA’s website www.mca.gov.uk.

  On 11 July 2002, the department provided NHS boards and trusts with information to help health professionals advise women on HRT who may have been concerned about the risks of this treatment following publicity about the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study. A copy of this information has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 24544).

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address the estimated 28% increase in breast cancer in the next 10 years as reported in The Scotsman on 25 September 2002.

Malcolm Chisholm: Cancer in Scotland: Action for change sets out a variety of measures aimed at improving prevention, earlier detection and treatment for all cancers including breast. Investment plans for 2001-02 and 2002-03 include details of additional investment targeted specifically at breast cancer services. Investment plans are published on the Cancer in Scotland website, www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/cancerinscotland . Copies are also available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 17445 and 21487).

Central Heating

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been made in the Perth and Kinross Council area to date under its central heating installation programme; how many of these applications have been approved, and how many have now been carried out.

Hugh Henry: Perth and Kinross Council tell us they have no stock which lacks central heating. All housing association stock in the area has central heating. Eaga manage the central heating programme for owner-occupiers and private renters. They do not collect information by local authority area. Since the programme began Eaga have had 996 applications from the   KY   and   PH postcode areas. To date they have approved 773 of them for initial survey and 300   heating systems have been installed.

Communities Scotland

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to investigate new ways of supporting private urban regeneration projects.

Ms Margaret Curran: Responsibility for the delivery of urban regeneration policy rests with Communities Scotland. The private sector benefits from information and guidance on urban regeneration provided by Communities Scotland including, for example, the provision of research, publications like the housing market context statement and information held on its website. Such support will continue to evolve and be updated to meet the needs of those involved in regenerating communities.

  However, in the main, urban regeneration projects involve public sector expenditure and a range of support is provided across the Executive, including Communities Scotland.

Domestic Abuse

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration has been given to making domestic violence an aggravated offence and, if so, what the outcome was of any such consideration.

Ms Margaret Curran: A working group established by the National Group to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland has carried out a review of legislation relating to domestic abuse and made a number of recommendations about how to increase the protection of women and children who experience such abuse. Discussions about how to implement the working group’s recommendations are at an early stage. The working group did give consideration to the fact that domestic abuse is not a specific offence but not to the possibility of providing for an aggravated offence.

Domestic Abuse

Kate Maclean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been made available to help deaf, deafened, hard of hearing and deafblind victims of domestic abuse in each year since 1999-2000.

Ms Margaret Curran: In the year 2000 the Scottish Executive provided just under £500,000 to local women's aid groups to improve access to refuges and offices by the disabled. This included equipment for the deaf such as textphones, hearing loops and alarm systems.

  Teletext subtitles were added to the domestic abuse television advertisement for its screening in March/April 2002 at a cost of £3,000.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the maximum daily allowable dosage of methadone is to a drug misuser.

Malcolm Chisholm: The daily dose of methadone prescribed is a matter of clinical judgement and should be tailored to meet the needs of the individual. In particular, those who habitually have been taking methadone will be able to tolerate a much higher dose. Those who have never taken the substance, or have not taken it for some time, have much lower tolerance and may experience severe toxicity. Prescribers should take into account advice and evidence about methadone use, for example, the UK Drug Misuse or Dependence – Guidelines on Clinical Management (HMSO 1999), available to all doctors, include a section on the dosage regime for methadone maintenance.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have access to an after school club.

Cathy Jamieson: The Executive does not collect figures on the number of children who have access to an after school club. However, based on information from the 2002 Pre-school and Day Care Census, we estimate that during the census week in January this year there were approximately 36,800 term time and 12,900 holiday out of school care places in Scotland. Since January, a further 4,000 places have been funded through the New Opportunities Fund.

  The Executive has provided a corrected answer which is published in the Written Answer Report on 15 January 2003: see http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/official_report/wa-03/wa0115.htm

Employment

Angus MacKay (Edinburgh South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many long-term unemployed people there were (a) on 1 April and (b) on average in each year since 1996.

Iain Gray: (a) Table showing the number of people in April each year for 1996-2002 who were claiming unemployment-related benefits for more than one year.

  Number of People Claiming Unemployment-related Benefits for More Than One Year (000)

  


April 1996
  

62.4
  



April 1997
  

51.6
  



April 1998
  

31.4
  



April 1999
  

30.4
  



April 2000
  

25.2
  



April 2001
  

20.4
  



April 2002
  

15.1
  



  (b) Table showing the monthly average number of people during each year 1996-2002 who were claiming unemployment-related benefits for more than one year.

  Monthly Average Number of People Claiming Unemployment-related Benefits (000)

  


Year
  
 



1996
  

60.1
  



1997
  

45.7
  



1998
  

31.6
  



1999
  

29.0
  



2000
  

24.1
  



2001
  

19.2

Employment

Angus MacKay (Edinburgh South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many unemployed people aged under 25 there were (a) on 1 April and (b) on average in each year since 1996.

Iain Gray: (a) Table showing the number of people aged under 25 who were claiming job related benefits in April each year for 1996 to 2002.

  Number of People Aged Under 25 Claiming Unemployment-related Benefits (000)

  


April 1996
  

54.5
  



April 1997
  

45.6
  



April 1998
  

39.8
  



April 1999
  

35.9
  



April 2000
  

31.9
  



April 2001
  

29.8
  



April 2002
  

29.8
  



  (b) Table showing the average monthly number of people aged under 25 who were claiming job related benefits each year for 1996 to 2001.

  Average Monthly Number of People Aged Under 25 Claiming Unemployment-related Benefits (000)

  


Year
  
 



1996
  

54.2
  



1997
  

44.3
  



1998
  

39.4
  



1999
  

35.2
  



2000
  

31.2
  



2001
  

29.8

Employment

Angus MacKay (Edinburgh South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs there were (a) on 1 April and (b) on average in each year since 1996.

Iain Gray: (a) Table showing the number of civilian workforce jobs in Scotland in the spring quarter (Jan-March) for each year, since 1996.

  Number of Civilian Workforce Jobs in Scotland (000)

  


Jan-March 1996
  

2,326
  



Jan-March 1997
  

2,316
  



Jan-March 1998
  

2,356
  



Jan-March 1999
  

2,383
  



Jan-March 2000
  

2,371
  



Jan-March 2001
  

2,452
  



Jan-March 2002
  

2,433
  



  (b) Table showing the average quarterly number of civilian workforce jobs in Scotland during each year, since 1996.

  Average Quarterly Number of Civilian Workforce Jobs in Scotland (000)

  


Year
  
 



1996
  

2,348
  



1997
  

2,339
  



1998
  

2,372
  



1999
  

2,390
  



2000
  

2,429
  



2001
  

2,458

Employment

Angus MacKay (Edinburgh South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many people were and (b) what percentage of the labour market was working in each month of each year since 1996.

Iain Gray: The most appropriate source of labour market and employment data is the Labour Force Survey, which is reported to the Scottish Executive quarterly not monthly.

  The quarterly Labour Force Survey data from 1996 to present provide the following estimates for (a) the number of working aged people working in Scotland and (b) the percentage of working aged people working in the Scottish labour market:

  


Labour Force Survey Quarter
  

(a) Number of Working Age People (000)
  

(b) Percentage of Labour Market in Work
  



December 1995 to February 1996
  

2,209
  

91.0%
  



March to May 1996
  

2,207
  

91.2%
  



June to August 1996
  

2,241
  

91.2%
  



September to November 1996
  

2,209
  

91.1%
  



December 1996 to February 1997
  

2,211
  

91.1%
  



March to May 1997
  

2,219
  

91.4%
  



June to August 1997
  

2,242
  

91.1%
  



September to November 1997
  

2,253
  

92.4%
  



December 1997 to February 1998
  

2,262
  

92.5%
  



March to May 1998
  

2,256
  

92.5%
  



June to August 1998
  

2,273
  

92.2%
  



September to November 1998
  

2,279
  

92.2%
  



December 1998 to February 1999
  

2,249
  

92.6%
  



March to May 1999
  

2,238
  

92.4%
  



June to August 1999
  

2,272
  

92.5%
  



September to November 1999
  

2,272
  

92.9%
  



December 1999 to February 2000
  

2,270
  

92.5%
  



March to May 2000
  

2,273
  

92.3%
  



June to August 2000
  

2,335
  

93.1%
  



September to November 2000
  

2,345
  

93.8%
  



December 2000 to February 2001
  

2,329
  

94.0%
  



March to May 2001
  

2,323
  

94.1%
  



June to August 2001
  

2,335
  

92.8%
  



September to November 2001
  

2,334
  

93.4%
  



December 2001 to February 2002
  

2,301
  

93.4%
  



March to May 2002
  

2,318
  

93.2%

Environment

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the study undertaken by Environmental Resources Management into litter legislation will be published.

Ross Finnie: The study report is due to be submitted to the Scottish Executive by Environmental Resources Management by the end of October. It will be published thereafter.

Environment

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have litter plans and whether there are any plans to encourage other local authorities to develop such plans.

Ross Finnie: Aberdeen City Council, Stirling Council and Shetland Islands Council currently have formal litter plans. The Scottish Executive provides annual core funding of £234,000 to Keep Scotland Beautiful, which runs a number of anti-litter initiatives. Keep Scotland Beautiful actively encourages the use of litter plans and I understand that several other authorities are currently considering building them into their programmes.

Environment

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to tackle fly-tipping.

Ross Finnie: The existing legislation relevant to flytipping is currently under review as part of the study commissioned by the Executive.

  Currently, the Scottish Executive provides annual core funding of £234,000 to Keep Scotland Beautiful, which runs a number of anti-litter and flytipping initiatives designed to raise awareness of the problem. In addition, since the beginning of the last financial year, an extra £700,000 has been allocated for anti-litter and flytipping campaigns such as the "Have some pride" poster campaign, which I launched in March.

  In addition, the Scottish Executive recently made £95 million available to local authorities as part of the First Minister's "Quality of Life" initiative. Around £3 million has been committed towards litter reduction schemes. Councils may choose to use some of this money to tackle flytipping.

Environmental Protection Act 1990

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to involve police officers in a stronger enforcement of litter laws under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Ross Finnie: As part of the current review of existing legislation relevant to litter and flytipping, the role of the police in assisting local authorities enforce litter laws is being considered. The Scottish Executive will consider any recommendations in due course.

Expenditure

Angus MacKay (Edinburgh South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in which years for which figures are available public expenditure was highest in (a) cash and (b) real terms in respect of (i) health, (ii) education, (iii) policing and (iv) local government.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is contained in Building a Better Scotland – Spending Proposals 2003-2006: What the money buys . It is set out in the summary tables on page 13 (cash figures) and page 14 (real terms).

Ferry Services

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why Pentland Ferries, operating between St. Margaret’s Hope and Gill’s Bay, receives no tariff rebate subsidy (TRS), given that those who ship with Northlink do benefit from TRS.

Lewis Macdonald: Under the terms of the Highlands and Island Shipping Services Act 1960, Tariff Rebate Subsidy (TRS) is paid to eligible shipping operators wholly or mainly engaged in providing services to the Highlands and Islands in accordance with an undertaking, a draft of which has been laid before, and approved, by Parliament. No such undertaking relating to Pentland Ferries is in place. However, Pentland Ferries has recently applied for TRS for the transportation of livestock and its application is under consideration.

Food Safety

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action the Food Standards Agency Scotland has taken following the examination of results from the Pesticide Residues Committee on the level of pesticides discovered in food and drink since the agency was established.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I am advised that the Food Standards Agency Board, at a recent open meeting, reviewed progress on pesticide and veterinary medicine residues in food. As part of this discussion, the board endorsed the need to pursue a strategy to encourage ways of improving the use of pesticides so that residues are minimised, with the aim of working towards zero residues. The agency continues to involve stakeholders in this dialogue and is developing an action plan to take forward this commitment to drive down residues in food.

Freight

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) freight facilities grants and (b) track access grants it has provided and what track access grants the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has provided in Scotland in each of the last three years.

Lewis Macdonald: Since 1999 the Scottish Executive has made 12 awards of Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) totalling almost £34 million. Over the last three complete financial years the breakdown of these awards is:

  


1999-2000 
  

seven awards made totalling £12.916 million
  



2000-01
  

three awards made totalling £10.983 million
  



2001-02
  

two awards made totalling £10.039 million
  



  In addition, the Executive funded the £11 million award by Department for Transport to Forth Ports plc in 2001-02 for the Rosyth to Zeebrugge ferry link.

  The Scottish Executive has made three awards of Track Access Grant (TAG) since taking over responsibility for the scheme in December 2000. All three awards were made in the financial year 2002-03. In addition, the Scottish Executive will contribute to a further two awards of TAG made by the SRA under our working agreement for applications which have traffic flows on both sides of the border.

  The SRA has no powers to award TAG for traffic flows wholly within Scotland. However, since assuming responsibility for TAG in February 2001 the SRA have made four cross-border awards of TAG, including the two mentioned above made under the recent working agreement.

Further and Higher Education

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it verifies the accuracy of figures promoted by higher education institutions regarding the number of former students who progress to employment or further study and who conducts the initial research that produces such figures.

Iain Gray: Information regarding the destinations of graduates in higher education institutions (HEIs) is collected by HEIs, via the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s (HESA) First Destinations Survey. The First Destinations Survey (FDS) collects information on the positions of successful graduates from full-time HE courses six months after graduation, via postal and telephone survey. The data collected is checked and validated, by the HEIs in the first instance, and then HESA. The information is then passed to the Scottish Executive.

  FDS data is now subject to audit, with each UK institution currently planned to be audited over a five-year cycle. The audit process is managed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England on behalf of the Performance Indicators Steering Group. Audit involves examination of systems and a re-survey of a sample of graduates.

  Initial results of this process have proved encouraging with regards quality of data being collected. Subsequently, a good practice guide was put together for use in institutions:

  http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/datacoll/FDS/.

Further and Higher Education

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken into how many full-time students in higher education are also in part-time employment; who carried out any such research; when, and over what period, any such research was carried out; where any such research has been made available, and what percentage of the student population fell into this category in each of the last five years.

Iain Gray: A Student Income and Expenditure Survey was conducted by Professor Claire Callender of South Bank University in 1998-99. It asked approximately 3,000 students throughout the UK detailed questions about their personal circumstances, courses and their income and expenditure.

  Copies of the Executive Summary report are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 10388). A copy of the full report is available on:

  http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR213.PDF.

Further and Higher Education

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken into the migratory behaviour of graduates from higher education; who carried out any such research; when, and over what period, any such research was carried out, and where any such research has been made available.

Iain Gray: Information with regards domicile and location of employment of graduates from Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs) is collected by HEIs via the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s (HESA) First Destinations Survey (FDS). The FDS collects a range of information on the positions of successful graduates from full-time HE courses six months after graduation. The Scottish Executive receives the results of the FDS from HESA.

  In addition, the Scottish Executive receives first destination information on higher education graduates from further education colleges (FECs) from the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC), collected via their First Destination of Graduates survey. The combined information is made available annually, via the Scottish Executive National Statistics publication, First Destinations of Graduates and Diplomates in Scotland.

Further and Higher Education

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken into how many full-time students in higher education have failed to complete their course of study; who carried out any such research; when, and over what period, any such research was undertaken; where any such research has been made available, and what percentage of the student population fell into this category in each of the last five years.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive has commissioned a literature review on Retention and Wastage in FE and HE from Dr John Hall at the Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE). His report, published in 2001 is available on the SCRE website at www.scre.ac.uk .

  The major source of information on the proportion of full-time students who complete their course of study can be found in Table 5 of the Performance Indicators on Higher Education in the UK, published by the Higher Education Funding Councils in December 2001. Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 18498) or on the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council’s website at:

  www.shefc.ac.uk/content/library/press/2001/prhe2701.htm.

Further and Higher Education

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to participate in the proposed launch on 18 October 2002 by Napier University seeking funding towards the creation of a Scottish Centre for Creative Industries at Craighouse Campus, in particular whether any minister will be participating in the launch; on what date any request for a minister to participate in the launch was made and by whom, and on what date any such ministerial attendance was confirmed.

Iain Gray: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30160 on 15 October 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at   http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Health

Angus MacKay (Edinburgh South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were treated in hospital in each year since 1996.

Malcolm Chisholm: Patients receiving hospital treatment will receive their care in a variety of settings e.g. out-patient clinics, or in-patient and day case beds.

  Data on the number of episodes of care for in-patient and day case treatment and the total number of consultant out-patient and accident and emergency attendances for the years ending March 1997 to March 2002 is provided in the following table:

  NHSiS - In-Patient1, Day Case1, Out-Patient1 and Accident and Emergency Activity: Years Ending 31 March 1997-20022

  





Year ending 31 March
  



1997
  

1998
  

1999
  

2000
  

2001
  

2002
  



In-patient episodes3


969,283
  

982,804
  

981,574
  

969,455
  

959,807
  

953,638
  



Day case episodes
  

384,291
  

414,869
  

437,819
  

434,269
  

443,519
  

419,957
  



Out-patient attendances
  

4,721,105
  

4,812,422
  

4,905,935
  

4,900,189
  

4,854,618
  

4,745,141
  



Attendances at A&E4


1,550,704
  

1,521,055
  

1,520,016
  

1,552,634
  

1,530,264
  

1,537,466
  



  Source: ISD Scotland [Form ISD(S)1].

  Notes:

  1. Includes NHS activity in joint-user and contractual hospitals.

  2. Information for 1998 onwards is based on new methods of recording.

  3. Includes transfers between specialties or significant facilities.

  4. Excludes patients attending for accident and emergency treatment that are seen by GPs.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether supervised drug withdrawal and safe alternative therapies are offered to all young people currently receiving Ritalin.

Malcolm Chisholm: The provision of individual care therapies and treatments are a matter for clinicians in consultation with the relevant professional staff/multi-disciplinary team. Decisions and appropriate responses in each case should always be based on individually assessed needs. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network Guideline on Attention Deficit and Hyperkinetic Disorders in Children and Young People which was published in 2001 to provide good practice guidelines for clinicians covers non-pharmacological therapies as well as pharmacological treatment.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the number of children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is not available centrally. However, information from a sample of GP records in practices across Scotland whose population is nationally representative suggests the following numbers of patients with attention deficiency disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were seen by GPs over the last four years. It is not possible to provide information prior to 1998-99 because of code differences prior to that date.

  


Year
  

Estimated Number of Patients Seen by GPs
  



1998-99
  

1,600
  



1999-2000
  

1,800
  



2000-01
  

1,800
  



2001-02
  

1,700
  



  These data refer to diagnoses known to the patients’ GP. There may be other patients whose condition is managed by specialist services, such as child psychiatry, who may not see their GP for these conditions and will therefore not be included in the data.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are advised of the side effects of stimulant medication before they are prescribed any such medication.

Malcolm Chisholm: Decisions regarding the use of stimulant medication in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are a matter of clinical judgement taking into account the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or their guardian/carer.

  The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 52 on ADHD provides advice about the most frequent side-effects associated with psychostimulants. The guideline recommends that the child or young person should be engaged in the therapeutic process with an understanding of their perception of their difficulties, the possibilities of treatment and their responsibility in the management of the disorder. The SIGN Guideline can be accessed on their website www.sign.ac.uk.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been any increase in the number of people and, in particular, children being prescribed Ritalin or other drugs for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; if so, whether it has any plans to reduce such prescription; what assessment it has made of research on this issue by Battaglia et al and Breggin in 1997, and what research into this issue it has carried out or commissioned.

Malcolm Chisholm: Figures are not held centrally on the number of people, including children, who have been prescribed methylphenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin) or other drugs for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Data collected centrally relate to the number of prescribed items and cost dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors. The data is not patient-specific.

  In deciding whether or not to prescribe Ritalin or other drugs for ADHD, clinicians would be expected to take account of advice and guidance about these treatments. This would include the national clinical guideline on Attention Deficit and Hyperkinetic Disorders in Children and Young People issued by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) in June 2001, the guidance issued in October 2000 by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the use of methylphenidate (Ritalin and Equasym) for ADHD in childhood and the Scottish Medicines Consortium advice dated July 2002 about the methylphenidate sustained release OROS formulation Concerta XL.

  Through the Chief Scientist Office, the Scottish Executive is funding a preliminary study of complementary therapy for children with ADHD. Given that there are well-established mechanisms for assessing clinical research and developing evidence-based guidelines for use within the health service, it would be inappropriate for the Executive to offer assessments of individual research papers.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25417 by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 May 2002, when it plans to publish a full report on the convention on hospital-acquired infections.

Malcolm Chisholm: The report is in preparation and I expect to publish it on 23 October.

Justice

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received in regard to any concerns about the release of convicted prisoners where appeals are pending.

Mr Jim Wallace: Since 1 April 2000, 10 letters have been received from one Member of Parliament, four Members of the Scottish Parliament and five members of the public expressing concern about the release of an appellant pending the determination of his appeal in five specific appeal cases.

Justice

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28795 by Mr Jim Wallace on 2 October 2002, what the names are of the five persons convicted of murder who are now on interim liberation pending an appeal against their conviction; what the details of each charge were, and whether the prosecutor expressed a view before bail was granted in each case.

Mr Jim Wallace: The names of the five appellants and details of their crimes are, like the details of all other appellants granted interim liberation, matters of public record. The information is available from the Depute Principal Clerk of Justiciary at the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh.

  As the Lord Advocate’s Private Secretary and I indicated to you in our respective letters of 18 July and 13 August about the case of Richard Crawford, the prosecutor has no statutory right to be heard when the High Court is considering an application for bail from an appellant pending the determination of his appeal.

Local Government Finance

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to note 4 on page 46 of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-2006: What the money buys , whether the structure of the Public Transport Fund will change as a result of being included in its transport spending plans instead of in the Local Government Spending Plans.

Lewis Macdonald: As a result of the inclusion of the Public Transport Fund (PTF) in the Executive’s transport spending plans, awards from the PTF from 1 April 2003 will be capital grants paid under section 70 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001. To date PTF awards have taken the form of additional capital allocations made to local authorities under section 94 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

  The Scottish Executive announced in April that the current round of the PTF would be the final round as a challenge fund. Future arrangements for supporting transport authorities’ capital public transport projects will be announced later in the autumn.

NHS Pay

Angus MacKay (Edinburgh South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average annual salary of (a) hospital doctors, (b) nurses and (c) GPs has been in each year since 1996.

Malcolm Chisholm: The average annual salary of hospital doctors and nurses in each year since 1996 is shown in the table.

  Estimated Average Annual Salary for Hospital Doctors and Nurses

  





1996
  

1997
  

1998
  

1999
  

2000
  

2001
  



Hospital Doctors
  

£31,815
  

£33,157
  

£34,907
  

£36,360
  

£37,637
  

£39,106
  



Nurses
  

£15,278
  

£15,916
  

£16,600
  

£17,639
  

£18,455
  

£19,321
  



  General Practitioners are not employees but independent contractors and as such do not attract a salary. They are paid a series of fees and allowances aimed at producing an Intended Average Net Income (IANI) for each GP. The Intended Average Net Income for 1996 - 2001 are as follows:

  Intended Average Net Income for General Medical Practitioners

  





1996
  

1997
  

1998
  

1999
  

2000
  

2001
  



GMPs
  

£44,483
  

£46,450
  

£49,030
  

£52,600
  

£54,220
  

£56,335

NHS Waiting Lists

Angus MacKay (Edinburgh South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many people were on hospital waiting lists and (b) what the average length of waiting time for an operation was in each year since 1996.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the number of in-patients and day cases on the true waiting list, and the median length of waiting time before an acute hospital admission is provided in the following tables.

  Table 1

  


As At Year Ended
  

Number on True Waiting List
  



31 March 1996
  

82,640
  



31 March 1997
  

84,649
  



31 March 1998
  

89,525
  



31 March 1999
  

70,227
  



31 March 2000
  

82,334
  



31 March 2001
  

81,968
  



31 March 2002
  

71,962
  



  Table 2

  


Year Ended
  

Median Wait (Days)
  



31 March 1996
  

32
  



31 March 1997
  

31
  



31 March 1998
  

34
  



31 March 1999
  

32
  



31 March 2000
  

31
  



31 March 2001
  

34
  



31 March 2002
  

34
  



  Information on hospital waiting lists is published quarterly by the Information and Statistics Division on its Acute Activity, Waiting Times and Waiting List website. The web address is http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/acute_activity/index.htm.

NHS Waiting Times

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current target (a) average waiting time is for an appointment with a consultant and (b) target waiting time is following a referral from a general practitioner, giving separate figures for heart disease, cancer and any other diseases for which separate figures are available.

Malcolm Chisholm: The national target in relation to out-patient waiting, set out in Building a Better Scotland , published on 12 September 2002, is that, by 2006, no patient should wait more than six months for a first out-patient appointment.

  Information on out-patient waiting times is collected centrally at specialty level only. The median waiting time for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant, following referral by a General Medical/Dental Practitioner, for the six most common specialties and for cardiology, in the year ended 31 March 2002, are given in the table.

  NHSScotland. Median Waiting Times for a First Out-Patient Appointment with a Consultant, Following Referral by a General Medical Practitioner: Year Ended 31 March 2002.

  


Specialty
  

Median Wait
  



Cardiology
  

42 days
  



ENT
  

66 days
  



General Surgery
  

40 days
  



Gynaecology
  

49 days
  



Ophthalmology
  

69 days
  



Orthopaedics and Trauma
  

97 days
  



Urology
  

68 days
  



All Specialties
  

50 days
  



  Source: ISD Scotland.

Nursing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that nurses are appropriately graded to reflect any additional duties and responsibilities which they undertake.

Malcolm Chisholm: Grading for nurses is currently determined according to the guidance laid down in the Nurses and Midwifery Staffs Negotiating Council’s Handbook .

  However, grading is one of the issues being addressed in the national negotiations on Agenda for Change – Modernising the NHS Pay System. A key part of the system will be a new job evaluation system purpose built to covering amongst others, all NHS nursing posts.

Nursing

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many bank and agency nurses have been employed in 2001-02 and what the cost has been to each NHS trust of employing such nurses

Malcolm Chisholm: In the one year period ending 31 March 2002, 818.3 (WTE) agency nurses were employed by NHS organisations. The cost to each NHS trust of employing such nurses is listed as follows. Information on bank nursing and midwifery staff will be available on SKIPPER in November 2002.

  Cost of Using Agency Nursing Staff by Organisation, for the One Year Period Ending 31 March 2002.

  


Trust
  

Unqualified (£)
  

Qualified (£)
  



Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
  

479,331
  

1,078,099
  



Lomond and Argyll Primary Care NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Primary Care NHS Trust
  

631,489
  

*
  



Ayrshire and Arran Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Ayrshire and Arran Primary Care NHS Trust
  

0
  

0
  



Borders Acute Hospital NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Borders Primary Care NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity Hospitals NHS 
  Trust
  

0
  

*
  



Dumfries and Galloway Primary Care NHS Trust
  

0
  

0
  



Fife Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
  

310,131
  

1,027,832
  



Fife Primary Care NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Forth Valley Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust
  

359,512
  

*
  



Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust
  

605,531
  

,724,798
  



Grampian Primary Care NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust
  

720,000
  

2,880,000
  



South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust
  

1,032,312
  

1,430,795
  



Yorkhill NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Greater Glasgow Primary Care NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Highland Primary Care NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
  

366,238
  

1,135,562
  



Lanarkshire Primary Care NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust
  

1,434,631
  

3,341,083
  



West Lothian Health care NHS Trust
  

*
  

*
  



Lothian Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

0
  

-
  



Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust
  

0
  

2,401,805
  



Tayside Primary Care NHS Trust 


-
  

0
  



Orkney Health Board
  

0
  

-
  



Shetland Health Board
  

0
  

*
  



Western Isles Health Board
  

0
  

0
  



Common Services Agency 
  

0
  

*
  



Total
  

6,607,618
  

16,425,652
  



  Notes:

  *Costs relating to less than 10 whole-time equivalent have been omitted to avoid the possibility of an individual’s earnings being identified.

  - Information not available.

Nursing

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how successful it has been in reducing the use of bank and agency nurses in the NHS in 2001-02.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS trusts are now more aware of their responsibilities when employing bank and agency nurses and have procedures in place to ensure that they are employed only when appropriate. The increased use of bank and agency nurses is indicative of the pressures in the system for nurse employment, for example, the working time directive and the creation of many new nursing/midwifery posts.

Police

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to introduce an independent procedure for dealing with complaints against the police.

Mr Jim Wallace: The response to the consultation document Complaints Against the Police in Scotland is still being considered. We will make an announcement once we have reached a conclusion.

Post Office

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to monitor and address the social and economic implications of closures of sub-post offices; whether it is aware of how many sub-post offices closed in each month in 2001; if it is not, whether it will gather and publish this information, and whether it is aware of how many sub-post offices are likely to close in each month in 2002.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive takes a wide range of factors into account in formulating its social and economic policies. Consignia, post offices and postal services are reserved to the UK Government.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the commitment given by the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice to the Justice 1 Committee on 6 June 2002 ( Official Report , col 3821) to reflect on the idea of a not-for-profit trust to own and operate new prisons and to consider whether it could be taken forward, what conclusion the minister has reached.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The announcement on 5 September of the Executive’s decisions on the Prison Estates Review included a statement that in seeking tenders for the new prison to be built and operated by the private sector innovative proposals to provide care and opportunities for those on remand would be sought, and that those proposals could include a role for voluntary and charitable not-for-profit organisations.

  So far as the actual ownership and operation of a new prison is concerned, further consideration has not identified any examples of the use of a not-for-profit trust to own and operate a new prison that can be used to assess whether it would be viable in the Scottish context. In addition, there are significant concerns as to whether such a trust could be adequately funded on a long-term basis in a way that would deliver the necessary degree of transfer of risk to the operator and so keep the new prison off the SPS’s balance sheet. However, if a serious not-for-profit proposal were submitted that could be shown to be robust and capable of delivering value for money and effective transfer of risk such a proposal would be considered.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been made with regard to medical treatment in prisons in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001 and (d) 2002 to date.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  (a) 85 (nine month period, from April to December)

  (b) 211

  (c) 290

  (d) 279.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the number of approved activities has been in each year since 1999-2000, as referred to in target 7 in the justice section of Building a Better Scotland – Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys .

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Approved activities were introduced into targets for the SPS from the year 2002-03. The target for the current year 2002-03 is a joint one for programmes and approved activities. The approved activities element is currently set at 400.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26897 by Mr Jim Wallace on 3 July 2002, why there has been no assessment of compliance with Standards of Health Care of Prisoners of medical services in prisons operated by the Scottish Prison Service since 1999.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  It was recognised that the Health Care Standards required revision to improve auditibility.

  The SPS has recently been in contact with the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland to identify how our standards could be improved. We are currently in the process of commissioning this piece of work. It is hoped that the revision of our standards will be completed by March 2003. I will arrange for the revised version to be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 14- to 16-year-olds have been held in adult prisons in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) 2002-03 to date.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information requested is not available. The number of receptions of 14- to 16-year-olds to the SPS are as follows:

  


1999-2000
  

2000-01
  

2001-02
  

1 April 2002 to date
  



150
  

145
  

192
  

155

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all land included in the balance sheet of the Scottish Prison Service under the heading of tangible assets, showing the (a) location, (b) area and (c) book value in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01 and (iii) 2001-02.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The location and value of the tangible assets is as listed in the following table. The remainder of the information sought is not readily available and could only be produced at disproportionate cost.

  

 

As at 31 March 2000
(£000)
  

As at 31 March 2001
(£000)
  

As at 31 March 2002
(£000)
  



Aberdeen City 
  

1,800 
  

1,900 
  

2,059 
  



Glasgow 
  

5,207
  

4,860
  

5,262
  



Stirling 
  

3,633
  

3,819
  

4,139
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

641
  

500
  

522
  



South Lanarkshire
  

244
  

-
  

-
  



Edinburgh 
  

9,915
  

31,202
  

35,556
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

713
  

1,131
  

1,226
  



Inverclyde 
  

1,238
  

1,050
  

1,161
  



Highland 
  

504
  

460
  

490
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

169
  

67
  

72
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

1,250
  

1,066
  

1,180
  



Falkirk 
  

3,060
  

4,833
  

6,012
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

2,658
  

6,122
  

6,571
  



Angus 
  

272
  

302
  

308
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

203
  

253
  

257
  



West Lothian 
  

141
  

125
  

136
  



East Ayrshire 
  

1,111
  

-
  

-
  



Total
  

32,759
  

57,690
  

64,951

Public Appointments

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27777 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2002, whether it will list the (a) appointments and (b) re-appointments advertised through the parliamentary notification system since May 2002 and where and when each such vacancy was advertised.

Mr Andy Kerr: Details of appointments made since May 2002 and where and when each vacancy was advertised are noted in the following table:

  


Public Body
  

Chair or Member
  

Date
  

Publication
  



Rent Assessment Panel
  

Member
  

17 May 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman




7 June 02
  

Chartered Surveyor Monthly




Scottish Screen
  

Chair
  

17 May 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Press and Journal 




19 May 02
  

Scotland on Sunday
The Herald on Sunday




Quality and Standards Board for Health in Scotland
  

Chair and Member
  

24 May 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Press and Journal




Scottish Legal Aid Board
  

Member
  

13 May 02
  

Issued to the Faculty of Advocates for distribution to 
  members. Previous advertisement for post attracted no applicants.
  



Crofters Commission
  

Chair and Member
  

23 May 02
24 May 02
  

Oban Times
Orcadian




The Herald
Press and Journal
West Highland Free Press
Stornoway Gazette
The Shetland Times




Scottish Social Services Council
  

Member
  

18 June 02
20 June 02
21 June 02
22 June 02
23 June 02
  

Asian Times




Daily Record




The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier




Third Force News




Scotland on Sunday
The Herald on Sunday
The Sunday Mail




Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh
  

Member
  

18 July 02
  

Daily Record




19 July 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
Times Higher Educational Supplement




21 July 02
  

Scotland on Sunday
The Herald on Sunday




Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
  

Member
  

20 June 02
  

The Big Issue
Third Force News




21 June 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
Press and Journal




Fisheries (Electricity) Committee
  

Member
  

18/19 July 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
Press and Journal
New Scientist
New Civil Engineer




Scottish Environment Protection Agency
  

Member
  

12 July 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Press and Journal




14 July 02
  

Scotland on Sunday




Sportscotland
  

Member
  

26 July 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
Press and Journal




National Waiting Times Centre Board
  

Chair and Member
  

8 July 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Press and Journal




Bòrd Gàidhlig na h-Alba
  

Chair and Member
  

18 July 02
  

An Gaidheal Ur
Oban Times
West Highland Free Press




19 July 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Press and Journal
Stornoway Gazette




21 July 02
  

Scotland on Sunday
The Herald on Sunday




Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards
  

Chair
  

19 July 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Press and Journal




VisitScotland
  

Member
  

6 Sept 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Press and Journal




Scottish Natural Heritage
  

Member
  

30 Aug 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
Press and Journal




NHS Trust Chairs
  

Chair
  

16 Aug 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Paisley Daily Express
Greenock Telegraph




20 Aug 02
  

Dumbarton Reporter




21 Aug 02
  

East Fife Mail
Glenrothes Gazette
Paisley & Renfrewshire Gazette
Lennox Herald




22 Aug 02
  

West Lothian Courier
Fife Leader North
Fife Leader South
Kirkcaldy Herald
Dunfermline Press
Fife & Kinross Extra
Gryffe Weekly News
Helensburgh Advertiser




23 Aug 02
  

The Fife Free Press




Fife Herald




St Andrews Citizen




Parole Board for Scotland
  

Member
  

23 Aug 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Press and Journal 




Council for the Regulation of Health Care Professions
  

Chair and Member
  

6 Sept 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Press and Journal 




Shetland NHS Board
  

Member
  

6 Sept 02
  

Press and Journal
The Shetland Times




Scottish Qualification Authority
  

Member
  

6 Sept 02
  

The Herald
Scotsman
The Courier
Press and Journal
Times Educational Supplement (Scottish Edition)




  All vacancies were advertised on the Public Appointments website. Details were also sent to those bodies on the Parliamentary Notification system’s external contact list, details of which have been given in the answer to question S1W-29322 on 11 October 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search

  In specified circumstances and, in particular, subject to satisfactory performance, the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice permits re-appointments to be made without open competition. Since May 2002 all re-appointments made were subject to satisfactory performance assessment and none were therefore advertised through the Parliamentary Notification system

Public Transport

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that public transport workers, passengers and vehicles are protected from the effects of anti-social behaviour, including violence, vandalism and smoking.

Lewis Macdonald: I take the issue of anti-social behaviour on public transport very seriously. We are awaiting a report from the Scottish Business Crime Centre about crime on buses, which will make recommendations on the way forward.

  The Executive recently launched an action programme that identifies measures to reduce youth offending and build a safer Scotland. We are investing in community-based programmes to prevent and reduce re-offending. In addition to the £25.5 million we have committed since June 2000, we will be investing a further £15 million this year to implement the 10-point action plan to tackle youth crime and disorder. Youth justice investment will increase to £33 million in 2005-06.

  A great deal of behaviour which might be classified as anti-social (including assault and vandalism) is already covered by existing law. The Executive has no plans to introduce new legislation in this area but we will continue to encourage transport operators and the police to deal with incidents of anti-social behaviour, including vandalism and assault, with the utmost seriousness.

Racism

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that any records and outcomes of investigations into allegations of racism are transparent and in the public domain.

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make any records and outcomes of investigations into allegations of racism since 1999 publicly available.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive does not hold a central record of allegations of racism against organisations and individuals within Scotland.

  Bodies such as the Commission for Racial Equality, the police or offices of procurators fiscal can provide details of the numbers of cases reported to or dealt with by them, subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act and other legislation.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an extension to the existing franchise of the east coast main line would be appropriate, detailing the reasons for the position on this matter.

Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29117 on 23 September 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

   http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search

Small Businesses

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to allow small traders to access civic amenity sites.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has no plans to alter the existing legislation regarding the provision of amenities by local authorities.

Social Justice

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be the main barriers to eliminating poverty under the devolution settlement.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive is tackling poverty through ensuring that opportunities are available for all to work where appropriate, to participate in society and to benefit from the provision of responsive public services. We are reducing the levels of poverty in Scotland through creating a fair and inclusive society, supported by the UK Government’s commitment to make work pay through the minimum wage and tax credit system, and to raise the income of pensioners.

  The Executive is also tackling poverty through a range of programmes, such as Sure Start Scotland, New Futures Fund, and concessionary bus fares.

Sport

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to support the development of sports for seniors.

Dr Elaine Murray: We remain committed to the ethos of sport for all regardless of age.  Sportscotland has committed significant funds to widening opportunities and its target set in 2000 of increasing the percentage of adults over 55 participating in sport from 34% to 45% by 2003 was achieved by March 2001.

  The recently published census figures confirm that we have an ageing population in Scotland. It is one of the issues that has been highlighted during the current review of Sport 21 and it is one that will need to be addressed in the revised and updated national strategy for sport in Scotland to be published next year.

Telecommunications

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with BT Scotland regarding the number of registrations of interest required before broadband technology is available in a particular exchange.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive has regular discussions with telecoms operators in Scotland on matters of common interest. The setting of individual "trigger levels" relating to the ADSL enabling of exchanges is a commercial decision for BT. However, the Scottish Executive shares the industry's desire to raise awareness and so stimulate the demand for broadband services.

Tourism

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many bookings for accommodation have been made through visitscotland.com since its launch (a) in total and (b) broken down by tourist board area.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many bookings for outdoor activities have been made through visitscotland.com since its launch (a) in total and (b) broken down by tourist board area.

Mike Watson: Visitscotland.com, the VisitScotland website, has been contracted out to eTourism Ltd, a joint venture company trading as visitscotland.com. Visitscotland.com is a commercial company and as such the Scottish Executive is not responsible for reporting on its performance. The information requested is therefore not held centrally and the question should be directed towards visitscotland.com.

Water Fluoridation

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any evidence is available to link fluoridation of the water supply to cancer, brittle bone disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can give assurances that fluoridation of the water supply will not have an adverse effect on people’s health.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any evidence is available showing the effects of fluoridation of the water supply on the immune system.

Malcolm Chisholm: As described in the consultation document Towards Better Oral Health in Children , issued on 24 September 2002, an expert scientific review, published in 2000, concluded that, aside from a possible increase in the prevalence of dental fluorosis of aesthetic concern, there is no evidence of other adverse effects on health, where fluoride is used at recommended doses.

Young Offenders

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive,  further to the answer to question S1W-26397 by Cathy Jamieson on 12 June 2002 that data regarding review hearings of a change from a recommendation from a children’s panel that a child be sent to secure accommodation is not held by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA), on what data the Secure Accommodation Advisory Group concluded that there is a lack of evidence to support an increase in places.

Cathy Jamieson: The report draws from a variety of data sources including SCRA, prison records and a survey of young people in secure accommodation carried out in 1998.